明 佚名 瑤臺獻壽圖 扇|Paying homage to Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West
15th century
Medium
Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
Image: 11 3/8 × 11 3/8 in. (28.9 × 28.9 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
China · Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1923
Accession Number
23.33.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite 15th-century Ming fan painting, mounted as an album leaf, a vibrant scene of mortals paying homage to Xiwangmu, the Mother of the West, her mythical Yao Tai palace. Rendered in ink and color silk—a luxurious medium prized for its luminous sheen and ability to hold delicate washes—the square format (11 3/8 × 11 3/8 in.) evokes intimate, portable art of hand fans, often carried by scholars and elites for personal contemplation. Xiwangmu, a central figure in Chinese Taoism and mythology, embodies immortality and longevity, famously associated with her peaches that grant eternal li...